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Mexico
November
13th 2005
San Diego
to Ensenada:
31°50.51’N Lat. and 116°38.06’W Lon.
The time
had finally come to say goodbye to San
Diego. KG and
I spent two wonderful weekends with  my Aunt Jana and Uncle Dan. They picked us up every weekend and had us
stay with them in our own private room!
My thumb got quite a workout with their satellite TV. Aunt Jana took us to visit her two
horses. We even got to see her ride
the larger younger horse named Antares.
She also treated us to a movie and the highlight was going to the wild
animal park not far from their beautiful house in Rancho Santa Fe. We also took my Aunt, Uncle and my Aunts
friend Gloria for a day sail. It was a
lot of fun because it was close to my Aunts birthday, her friend had never
sailed before and Uncle Dan hadn’t sailed in a while. The wind was light but that was good for a
first timer (don’t want to scare them away with the first sail). Thank you for all of the dinners,
transportation and entertainment Aunt Jana and Uncle Dan. Before we left Stephen and Yvonne drove
over for a visit from Scottsdale. They spent a couple of nights with us on
the boat at the police dock in San
Diego.
Stephen arrived at just the right time as he had our mail containing
our vessels documentation. KG and I
were having our boat inspected by the San Diego Harbor Patrol and he had just
asked for the papers for our boat!
One day the four of us toured the city, looked at the shops and had
lunch at a park overlooking S.D.
Bay. Another day we went for a day sail out into
the swells of the Pacific and then to downtown S.D. and back to our slip on Shelter
Isl. While sailing we saw two  America’s Cup boats sailing around (they sure
make our boat feel small). Stephen and
Yvonne treated us to dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the Bay. We had sailed past that restaurant earlier
and now all four of us were on the inside looking out. During their visit the solar panels that we
had ordered 2 weeks prior arrived.
With Stephen’s SUV we picked up the panels and made a “grocery list”
for The Home Depot. The next morning
we drove to the store and purchased everything that we would need to install
them on Moorea. By 14:30 that same day
we had one panel mounted!
Unfortunately it was time for them to leave, they had a wedding to
attend and then back to AZ. Thank you
Stephen and Yvonne for being there when we needed you the most! Hopefully one day we can return the
favors. Long time friends of ours,
Marlene and Bernie just happened to be taking  a cruise that left from San Diego.
We were able to meet at their hotel room the night before the ship was
to depart. I was so happy to see the
two of them again they both looked great.
Moorea
and crew left San Diego
at 18:30 after saying goodbye to Timo and Carl who were both  anchored at the La Playa anchorage. Soon after leaving the bay we were forced
to turn on the radar because of the fog.
We had our main up just for show while our trusty Yanmar powered us
towards Mexican waters. At 02:00 we
crossed the border into our next country.
Bienvenidos a Mexico. On November 15th Moorea was
safely anchored in Ensenada. Checking into Mexico was a breeze with Roger’s
help. For less than 20.00 he had us
checked into Mexico
in just about an hour. Other people
that we talked to had to make several trips to the immigration, port captain,
before it was all said and done they said a couple of days had passed. For the time and hassle savings I would
highly recommend Roger at Baja Naval to help with the check in
procedures. He also gave us some
suggestions on his local favorite lunch spots, all of which were excellent
and very reasonable. We enjoyed Ensenada and its warm
and friendly people.
November
16th 2005
Ensenada
to Isla Todos Santos
Sur: 31°48.25’N Lat. and 116°47.25’W Lon.
One
thing my wife and I have learned on this adventure is to be flexible. Originally our route was to take us
directly to Turtle
Bay, but as it turned
out we made 2 stops in between. The
passage would take us approximately 3 days.
The first being a small island a little south and west of Ensenada. To begin with our wind was good until the
sun started towards the horizon at which time the wind gods abandoned
us. Checking our guide book in the
waning light it was decided that since having no wind it would be better to
sleep and wait for hopefully more tomorrow.
The very small anchorage had room for only one boat, fortunately it
was unoccupied. Many birds made their
home on the island the evidence could be seen on the dark rocks in the form
of what looked like, how should I say “snow”, also known as guano. A local fisherman in his panga (fishing
boat) came by and surveyed our anchoring location. He indicated that our anchoring position
was “bueno, bueno”.
November
17th 2005
Isa
Todos “Fly” Santos
Sur to Cedros Isl.
In
the morning we found that our white topsides had turned black with thousands
of flies! I assumed after getting
underway with both sails in a N. W. wind that our unwelcome guests would use
their name and leave. My assumption
was incorrect. I became the great
white hunter, electric tennis racket in hand I pulled out every move in the
book. These bad boys are faster than
the ones in WA, so resorting to a half folded magazine the carnage could be
seen from what used to be great aviators.
At 16:00 three to four large dolphins played with our bow, what a
treat.
November
18th 2005
Day
1: 30°00.00’N Lat. and 116°05.43’W Lon.
On
this day our wind ranged from 0 to 16 Knots.
During the night shift I saw a number of shooting stars with almost a
full moon. In the morning KG and I saw
a whale. The flies are still with us
although their numbers are considerably fewer. The weather is sunny and close to 70
degrees. Our days run from noon to
noon showed 105 nautical miles.
November
19th 2005
Day
2: Cedros Isl.: 28°05.990’N Lat. and 115°11.00’W Lon.
Another
beautiful night at sea. Kelly Girl had
the 04:00 to 07:00 watch and was able to see a gorgeous sunrise. Just as my “watch” began Moorea hooked a
giant clump of kelp. I could tell
because our wind vane “Monty” rounded up and our speed dropped. With a boat hook my attempts at removing
the new appendage failed. “Johnny” our
faithful diesel was called upon the remove the kelp in reverse, being careful
of course to avoid wrapping the weeds around our propeller. Fifteen minutes later our course and speed
resumed with the person on “watch” actually watching! The air temperature reached 75  degrees.
While sailing south on the east side of Cedros
Island we caught our first fish in Mexico. A Bonito that refused to die, he was
flopping around even after his head and guts were removed. That night in our anchorage the Bonito was
barbequed and oh how tasty it was. Our
anchorage was rolly so using one of our gadgets called the “Flopper Stopper”
the motion of the ocean was livable.
The “Flopper Stopper” works with a line tied to the end of the
boom. When the swell makes the boat
roll the device made of two pieces with thin stainless steel and a hinge in
the middle that folds it in half. When
the boat rolls the other way it unfolds and creates drag through the water
which slows the rocking motion.
November
20th 2005
Cedros
Isl. To Turtle Bay: 27°41.12’N Lat. and 114°53.20’W
Lon.
During
the night, while trying to sleep, our wind returned. Since neither of us could sleep it was
decided that to sail would be smoother and at least KG could get some
rest. I was really looking  forward to arriving in Turtle Bay
because of the many nice things said about it. We anchored at around 11:00 to find our
fellow cruising friends, Timo and Carl already at anchor. Once our boat was organized we headed over
for a visit to see how their trip south was.
They had a friend along that was catching a flight back to B.C., so
they were moving south fairly quickly.
In fact both boats were heading out shortly, we said goodbye and knew
that we would see them again. A few
days later a number of cruisers got together for a nice dinner at a local
restaurant. KG and I hiked up a hill
with a cross on it for a nice panoramic view of Turtle Bay
and of the desert to the east. The
people in that  town are very friendly and generous even
though the fish cannery had closed down and left a lot of people
unemployed. We told one gentleman in
broken Spanish that his flowers were bonito and he immediately asked if he
could give us some but we said “No gracias”.
Another gentleman that owns a small bar located just in front of his
home drove us in his own car to the place that sells potable water after we
told him that we needed agua. I also
had fun sailing our dinghy around the bay and from the mother ship to
shore. While in Turtle Bay
the wind would whip down the hills from the east and carry the land with
it. Every day the solar panels would
have a layer of dust on them from the strong wind. After almost four days of fun in the sun we
decided to continue south.
November
24th 2005
Turtle Bay to Abrejos: 26°43.60’ N Lat. and
113°32.50’W Lon.
At
17:00 we set sail towards our next anchorage in Baja, while the setting sun
made us squint. This passage would
take us through the night and most of the next day to reach a decent place to
spend the night. Our wind was
fantastic reaching 22-27 knots from the north west. Most of the trip we had a double reef in
the main with the full jib, at other times just the jib was used. By 18:00 in the waning light we were safely
anchored in behind the town of Abrejos.
November
26th 2005
Abrejos
to Bahia Santa Maria:
24°46.43’N Lat. and 112°15.14’W Lon.
After
a good nights sleep we decided to sail off of the hook. Without starting the motor KG and I raised
the mainsail in the light breeze. Once
the sail was set we began raising the anchor.
After 10-15 minutes the CQR was on deck and our boat was sailing
straight for Magdalena
Bay. The wind was with us again from the north west up to force
6 (22-27knots). Our days run showed 120
nautical miles (138 statute miles) which set a 24 hour record for our
boat! The waves had built up to 6-7
feet and would occasionally send spray into the cockpit. Since we wouldn’t make Magdalena Bay
in the daylight it was decided to anchor overnight in Bahia Santa Maria which
lies north and west of our next destination.
Because we sailed off of the hook and didn’t start the motor at all on
this leg we said “lets end the passage how it was begun”. So we furled the jib, moved the dinghy over
on deck to ready the anchor and when the position was correct, the boat was
turned into the wind and the anchor dropped.
KG and I lowered the main with a feeling of accomplishment in trying
something new and actually succeeding in it.
November
28th 2005
Bahia
Santa Maria to Magdalena Bay:
24°38.38’N Lat. and 112°08.22’W Lon.
Again
we sailed off of the hook but after about 2 hours the wind died so we ran the
money burner.  Once we reached the entrance to the bay
we had a great close hauled sail to our anchorage at “Man of War”. KG took a panga to the nearby town of San Carlos for some
provisions. This is where we first met
the friendly people aboard the schooner “Alcyone”. They had been in Mexico
before and were moving the 65 foot “Alcyone” to a more protected area in “Mag Bay”. The S/V (Sailing Vessel) “Simplicity”
decided to head that way and so would Kelly Girl and I. The anchorage turned out to be right behind
some sand dunes and offered better protection from the north winds. We had a great time getting to know the
people on board the other two boats.
On board “Simplicity” is Garth, his wife Gail and their 10 year old
son Nick from Portland, OR.
The Port Townsend based Schooner “Alcyone” has got a number of people
starting with Captain John “Sugar” his wife Captain Leslie and their two
daughters Alyce age 14 and Darby age 11.
Also on board is Captain Robert his wife Holly and their 2 year old
daughter Mary. Robert and Holly know
Sugar and Leslie because they have a lot in common; they both have wooden schooners
based in Port Townsend, WA. “Martha”
is the boat that Robert and Holly have still back in the states. There is also a teacher on board, Robin who
is “boat schooling” the two girls. And
last but not least is the family pet perro (dog) who is a “labradoodle” named
Kobo. Our daily activity was swimming,
volleyball and dinghy sailing. My
birthday was spent on board the “Alcyone” along with everyone mentioned
above; we had great company and good food!
Thank you all for a birthday celebration that I won’t soon forget.
December
5th 2005
Mag Bay
to San Carlos
and then Belcher Point: 24°34.52’N Lat. and 112°03.89’W Lon.
Our
ships supplies were running low so we decided to take “Moorea” to the nearby
town of San Carlos. We had a nice sail on the way but had to
keep a close eye on the depth sounder.
On the way to the channel we could see the bottom. The depth sounder was showing 7 feet and we
draw just over 6. Being safely
anchored we took shore leave in the dinghy.
KG met some locals and asked for directions to town. The first gentleman did not speak English
so he waved a friend over in his car.
He spoke English well and instead of telling us where to go we found
ourselves being chauffeured in his new Jetta.
I am always surprised when someone goes out of their way to help
strangers and I can say that it has happened many times while on this
journey. Louis just happened to live
in the Seattle
area for a few years and he said that many people helped him while he lived
in the states. We purchased groceries
and water. Once provisioned we had a
nice sail back to our anchorage for the night at Belcher Point near the
entrance of “Mag” Bay. That night S/V
“Simplicity” had us and two other boats over for beverages.
December
6th 2005
Belcher
Point to Los Frailes: 23°22.70’N Lat. and 109°25.43’W Lon.
All
provisioned up, we planned on sailing straight to Los Frailes, without
stopping in Cabo San Lucas, which lies at the southern tip of the Baja. We have heard that there are ten U.S.
people for every one  Mexican.
The prices are also raised because of that influence. “Simplicity” and “Moorea” left at about
11:00 for a two night passage. The wind
varied from light to 21 knots. At one
point we had the spinnaker up on a nice broad reach. Passing Cabo, the wind turned gusty from
the beam, KG and I put a reef in the main which helped. On the east side of the Baja the wind was
blasting from the north. After putting
a second reef in the main, and furling the jib, the boat handled nicely. It was starting to get late in the day, so
we started the engine, and motor-sailed.
A few hours later, with lots of salt on deck, our destination was in
sight. By 16:50 we were anchored in
Los Frailes after tacking back and forth since 10:30. “Simplicity” decided to head back to Cabo
San Lucas and wait for the wind to abate.
A few days later the anchorage at Los Frailes was packed, many boats
were waiting for the “northers” to die down, before continuing on to their
respective destinations. I will always
remember this place, because of the many different activities; snorkeling,
hiking, volleyball, and movie nights.
December
15th 2005
Los
Frailes to La Paz:
24°20.50’N Lat. and 110°08.58’W Lon.
With
our north wind finally abated, the time had come to leave our friendly anchorage. At 17:00 just before sunset, a number of
boats hauled up their anchors in the remaining light. Some have electric  windlasses, while others have manual ones
like ours. The windlass aboard “Salty
Dog”, with Brian and Kerry aboard (and their 2 dogs) was broken so he had to
raise it by hand! At first we were
able to sail, then at 01:00 our motor came to life. Having a full moon above with little cloud
cover made for great visibility. By
07:00 Moorea had both of her sails up again, while KG and I tacked her up the
Cerralvo Channel. Just before our
intermediate anchorage at Balandra
Bay, I landed a Sierra
with my fishing pole. Kelly Girl and I
anchored in the dark, just in front of a local landmark called mushroom
rock. That night a wind piped up from
the west, our anchorage was exposed to that direction. One sailboat headed out in the middle of
the night, we made it untll four in the morning (since we  couldn’t sleep anyway). The timing worked out great, just before
reaching the channel to La Paz,
the sun was shining brightly. We
followed the buoys to the end; there were a lot of boats anchored here. I found a nice open spot between them, and
headed for it. Watching the depth
sounder go from 30 feet to 7, we realized why no one was there. With the engine in reverse, we waited for
the inevitable grounding. Moorea’s
22,000 pounds had almost stopped moving forward when the bottom was felt on
her keel. Keeping the motor in reverse
we easily backed away from the bar.
Fortunately the bottom is composed of sand and mud, so no damage to
report. La Paz is a fantastic place, so nice in
fact that it is a hard place to leave.
We spent many days exploring the town, Christmas shopping, and even
caught a couple of movies. The best
part was getting together with other cruisers met along the way.
December
30th 2005
La Paz
to Balandra Bay: 24°19.42’N Lat. and 110°19.93’W
Lon.
Motoring
north through the channel we passed many marinas, at the end of the channel
lies the Costa  Baja Marina. A light breeze produced little ripples on
the waters surface, which was our cue to hoist the sails. Tacking for four hours in the freshening
breeze was a joy because the water was so smooth. Rowing to shore we explored the sandy
beaches, and waded in knee deep water to view the various animals living by
the rocks. Many photos were taken of
the area including Mushroom Rock. That
night KG and I were invited over to a neighboring boat named Enez. On board is Noel and Rosy our favorite
cruising French couple. They also had
two friends visiting, Yvon and Jaezel.
Together we had quite the meal, six courses to be exact of fine food
and wine.
December
31st 2005
Balandra Bay
to Partida Bay: 24°31.89’N Lat. and 110°22.66’W
Lon.
The wind
was light, so Moorea and crew powered all of the way to Isa Partida. In the Anchorage we  found “Simplicity” and “Alcyone”! That night all of us were invited aboard
the big schooner to ring in the new year.
Each boat brought food for a new years eve potluck dinner, and a
number of us actually made it to midnight.
Games were played, the Simpson’s watched, and stories told. A very memorable day indeed.
January
1st 2006
Partida Bay
to Ensenada
Grande: 24°33.60’N Lat. and 110°23.87’W Lon.
Sailing
off of the hook towards our next anchorage 2 miles north felt great. No motor = no fuel = less  money spent = ). In this beautiful bay we played volleyball,
swam, hiked, and caught fish for dinner.
Another day found me hiking with friends from the other two boats up
an arroyo (river) with no water in it.
We packed lunches and hiked to the other side of the island to view
the Sea of Cortez while eating. Garth brought Red Vines to share with all;
he is my favorite hiking partner! Time
goes so fast, six days later we were all still anchored in the bay. Our departure was delayed because of the
“Northers”, wind that blows down the Sea of Cortez
quite briskly. This was another great
place to fish as “Alcyone” showed us how to catch them with their rowing dories!
January
7th 2006
Ensenada
Grande to Isla San Francisco:
24°49.29’N Lat. and 110°34.26’W Lon.
The
strong north winds subsided, to the point that in order to get to our next
anchorage we had to motor. The bay is
so clear that in 30 feet of water we could see the anchor as we lowered it
toward the ground. The island is very
pretty and the views from our hikes (with fellow cruisers) hard to beat. In the lowlands of the island, the locals
harvest salt, as the tide recedes the water that is left evaporates and
leaves the sal (salt) behind. It is an
interesting site to see the super bright white salt in comparison with the
surrounding colors of the tan sand and blue waters of the bay. Having dinner aboard “Lungta” with Timo,
Linda, Carl and Susan was a great reunion.
It is always nice to talk to people over a potluck dinner.
January
9th 2006
Isa San Francisco to
Evaristo: 24°54.63’N Lat. and 110°42.29’W Lon.
At
08:30 we released our hook from the bays sandy bottom, our anchor would touch
this place yet  again.
The wind was blowing from the north at about 18 knots. With a double reefed main and partially
furled headsail Moorea beat easily into the waves. The helm felt light because the boat was
balanced so well. About 3 hours later
we arrived at our next port of call.
La Kelly and I anchored under sail near “Alcyone” without getting too
upset with each other. The wind was
blowing more than we were used to.
Communication ahead of anchoring time was the key to prevent future
problems. Having anchored successfully
we headed to shore for supplies. We
found water from a purification plant at 10 pesos for 20 liters or just under
a $1 for 5 gallons. Food on the other
hand was harder to find, La Kelly was able to track down a little bit of
flour and some Cokes. One thing that I
am not sure if I mentioned before is that when you order a hamburger, you
actually get a slice of ham on it! I
guess without the ham it would just be a burger. She also came back with 2 delicious hotdogs
that had tomatoes, onions, mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise on top (sounds
weird but they were taaas-ti).
January
11th 2006
Evaristo
to Agua Verde: 25°31.16’N Lat. and 111°04.33’W Lon.
The
wind finally abated, giving us a chance to head north into the swell. The anchorage was very rolly, therefore we
set a stern anchor and deployed our Flopper Stopper, which helped
considerably. Here  we hiked with the goats that had well
developed paths on the rocky terrain.
At the north end of the anchorage in about 30 feet of water you can
make out a sunken sailboat. A line
that is attached to the top of mast floats on the surface at low tide. It is a grim reminder of how buoyant boats
are with a hole in the bottom. One
hike led us over a hill and down into a lush green valley. Following the dirt path La Kelly and I
found and old cemetery. Many of the
graves were only covered with stones, while others had cement painted white
with the name and date of the deceased.
Some of the graves were quite small and I felt blessed that breath still
fills my lungs. During our stay in
Agua Verde, “Sugar” celebrated a birthday by inviting the crews on “Moorea”
and “Simplicity” aboard “Alcyone” for a make your own calzone party. They made the bread and had all of the
toppings in bowls for our salivating mouths to choose from. Once made, all of the calzones got baked to
perfection. What a clever idea to feed
11 hungry people. One of the
traditions aboard “Alcyone” is that the birthday person must wear every
article of clothing that they receive.
“Simplicity” took full advantage of this by making a bra out of shells
for him. Everyone had a good laugh on
that special evening.
January
14th 2006
Agua
Verde to Puerto Escondido: 25°49.32’N Lat. and 111°18.51’W Lon.
Puerto
Escondido would mark the northernmost destination for “Moorea” in the Sea of Cortez. The reason for us to travel this far was
based on something the gentleman that sold us the boat had said. He told us that he had a place in Loreto
(not too far north of our anchorage) and that if we were ever in the area to
look him up. We found out later from a
mutual friend that he was back in the States.
In the bay of this particular anchorage there are many mooring balls,
the daily charge was 35 pesos a day or about $3.50. The price is the same whether you use their
mooring balls or your own anchor. Our
choice was for the mooring ball out of convenience. High winds the following day made white
caps form in the enclosed bay, our anemometer showed gusts of up to 37
knots. Sitting below I noticed
something close to our port side window.
La Kelly and I went up on deck to find “Simplicity” directly next to
our boat! The mooring ball that they
had taken broke free from its mooring.
Running on deck I started yelling “Garth! Garth!” soon both boats were
being fended off from each other. The
next problem was that their dinghy painter had somehow wrapped around our
mooring line, our boats were being held together! I told Garth that he needed to cut the line
to his dinghy so that we could be free of each other and not damage any of
the boats further. He went below to
fetch a knife and to start his motor, after returning he asked me “Will you
take care of my inflatable?” I responded
“Yes”, anything to get our two boats apart before our mooring ball failed as
well. Once cut I retrieved the now
shortened painter and attached it to the rear of Moorea. Unbeknownst to me “Simplicity” still had
the large steel mooring ball attached to the bow of their ketch. Fortunately help was on the way, “Sugar”
from “Alcyone” was en route with his daughter Darby. They cut the line attaching their boat to
the ball and guided them to a nearby private mooring that had held a much
larger boat through the last hurricane.
Alls well that ends well and there was no damage to either boats
(thank goodness). The next day after
setting one of our own anchors, the crews from the three boats took an
awesome hike into what we call Steinbeck’s canyon. With lunches packed the intrepid voyagers
climbed over boulders and worked our way all the way up to some fresh water
pools with small streams trickling into them.
With all food consumed, we hiked on to an idyllic pool complete with palm
trees, for an afternoon dip, in the tortoise in the shell water.
January
18th 2006
Puerto
Escondido to Agua Verde: 25°31.34’N Lat. and 111°04.37’W Lon.
Motoring
south after having too much wind from the north was not what we had expected. I had envisioned the milk run with the wind
at our back; instead we received exhaust in the nose. Seven and a half hours later
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